Illuminating device



Jan. 28, 1964 R. K. NOTTINGHAM ILLUMINATING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed April 12, 1961 IN VEN TOR. Ralph K. Nottingham Fig. 2

Buckhorn, Cheat/1am 8 B/ore ATTORNEYS J 1964 R. K. NOTTINGHAMILLUMINATING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 12. 1961 Fig. 3

Ralph K Nottingham Buckhorn, Cheafham 8 Blore Fig. 5

ATTORNE Y9 United States Patent 3,119,565 ILLUMHNATENG DEVHQE Ralph K.Nottingham, 2934 NE. 51st Ave,

Portland, Greg. Filed Apr. 12, 1961, Ser. No. 102,604 7 Claims. ((Cl.Mil-10.1)

The present invention comprises an illuminating device for casting aconstantly changing kaleidoscopic design upon an adjacent wall andceiling. The illuminating device is intended to give soft lighting of apleasing nature and is particularly suited for use in tearooms, cocktaillounges and the like. The device throws a tall, brilliant, constantlychanging flame pattern vertically upon an adjacent wall, and shimmeringconstantly changing colored patterns to either side thereof and upon theceiling above the device. The device is so constructed that theconstant- 13 changing, brilliant flame appears to be surrounded by dimlight curtains such as are seen in auroras, the effect eing pleasing tothe senses.

An object of the present invention is to provide a device of theforegoing character which is easily fabricated from inexpensivematerials, which may be readily mounted in a desired position of use,and which may be easily serviced, such as to replace burned out bulbs orto create a different pattern.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present inventionwill be readily apparent from inspection of the following specificationtaken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein likenumerals refer to like parts throughout.

in the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a front elevation, with portions broken away, of the presentinvention in operation;

FIG. 2 is an end elevation of the present invention, with parts brokenaway, and schematically illustrating the operation of the device;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken substantially along lines 35 of FIG.2 and on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section taken substantially along line 44 of FIG.3; and

FIG. 5 is a vertical section taken substantially along line 5-5 of FIG.3.

The device comprises an opaque housing it} adapted to be positionedadjacent a wall, such as by standing it upright upon a shelf T1 or byconnecting it to a wall with suitable brackets (not shown). The casingcomprises end walls and 13, a front wall 14-, and a rear wall 15. Thehousing also includes a bottom wall in having upwardly turned front andrear flanges 17 which extend upwardly within and beyond the lower edgesof the front and rear walls so as to provide slots 18 for the entry ofcooling air, while preventing downward escape of light from the housing.The slots 18 are masked by portions of a false bottom wall 19 providedwith perforations 2t to permit cooling air to flow through the housing.The upper surface of the housing is partially blocked at the front by apartial upper wall member 21 having an upwardly extending mask flange 22which hides portions of the apparatus to be described. The housing isthereby provided with a wide slot in its upper surface, the rear edge ofwhich is defined by the upper edge of the wall and the forward edge ofwhich is defined by tie masking flange 22.

A source of light, such as the element 25 of an incandescent light bulbas, is mounted within the housing toward the bottom thereof. Themounting is conveniently provided by a bracket 27 fastened to the falsebottom wall 19, the bracket supporting a light bulb socket 28. Thebracket is so mounted as to position the element of the bulb centrallywithin the casing and in such manner that the bulb may be surrounded bya tubular, translucent shield 36. The shield horizontally surrounds thelight source, extending about the light source in the vertical sense tosuch an extent that any light emitted through the open slot at the topof the housing must pass through the shield. The shield is colored in apatchwork manner by applying thereto various colored patches of paint,or translucent colored film or the like as indicated at 31. The shieldis of sufiicient internal diameter at one end and so arranged that thebulb may be replaced. A convenient form of shield is herein illustratedcomprises a lantern chimney having an annular bead 32 at one end bymeans of which the shield may be mounted on a driving mechanism.

The shield mounting herein illustrated comprises a bracket 35 adapted toengage the end of the shield, and a clamp member 36 removably afiixedthereto and which engages the bead 32. The bracket 35 is fixed to adriven shaft 37 which is horizontally journaled in a U-shaped support 39mounted upon the false bottom wall W. The support 39* also mounts anelectric motor 40 which drives the shaft 37 through pinion 4 and gear42.

A double convex lens is fixedly mounted within the housing with itsoptical center to the rear of a vertical plane, indicated at A, andextending through the optical center of the light source 25 andincluding the axis of the shaft 37. A convenient mounting comprises alens holding wire frame 46 supported by a bent rod 47 mounted upon thebracket 27 and braced by a rod 4'3 fastened to the wall 12 'The centralplane of the lens is inclined rearwardly in such manner as to cast aflame shaped pattern on an adjacent wall, the lower edge of which is atpoint B, the widest part of which is near point C, and which tapersupwardly therefrom to a point high up on the wall. As the variouspatches 3d of different colors on the shield 3ft rotate past therearwardly inclined plane C-D which includes the optical centers of thelens and or" the light source 25, and also includes the axis of rotationof the shield 39, the flame pattern kaleidoscopicmly changes. The flamepattern is the most brilliant portion of the design oreated on the wall,due to the relative nearness of the lens 45 compared to other portionsof the apparatus to be described.

Mounted directly above the light source and Within the open slot at thetop of the housing there is a driven shaft 56', the axis of which isparallel to the axis of rotation of the shield and Within the plane A. Aplurality of double convex lenses are mounted upon and strung along theshaft St), each lens being suitably mounted in a wire mounting framefixed to the shaft. The lenses include a central lens 51 which isdirectly above the light source, a pair of laterally positioned,intermediate lenses 52, and a plurality of outwardly positioned lenses53. The lens 51 is mounted with its optical axis normal to the axis ofthe shaft 56 and at one side of the shaft Sil, and the lenses 52 aremounted with their optical axes normal to the axis of shaft 56 and onthe opposite side of the shaft, so that the optical center of each ofthe lenses 51 and 52 orbits in a vertical plane and about the axis ofthe shaft 50. The lenses 53 are mounted in oppositely disposed pairs atoutward inclinations with respect to the axis of the shaft 50. Theoptical axes of the lenses 53 are inclined at about 45 to the axis ofshaft and lie in planes normal to the planes of the optical axes of thelenses 51 and 52. The shaft 5%) is driven by an electric motor 54through a pinion 55 and gear 56. Preferably the speed of rotation of theshaft 50 differs from the speed of rotation of the shaft 37.

As the lenses 51, 52 and 53 orbit about the axis of shaft 50 shimmeringmulti-colored kaleidoscopic patterns are created on the adjacent walland ceiling. The rays of light thus produced are not as intense as theflame pa tern, and the rays fan inwardly and outwardly toward and awayfrom the central pattern, crossing and recrossing each other. Due to thedifferences in speed and the relative displacement of the lenses withrespect to the shield it may be hours before any given pattern repeatsitself.

As an added feature a multi-faceted crystal ball as is mounted above thecentral portion of the shield 30 and generally in a position in front ofthe plane A. The ball is mounted at the end of a long, substantiallyhorizontal shaft 61 which is substantially parallel to shaft 37. Theshaft is driven by an electric motor 62 mounted on the wall 13. Theshaft is slightly bent at 63, adjacent its point of attachment to themotor, whereby the ball 60 is caused to orbit in a vertical plane.Myriad rays of light are created by the refractive ball, which rays oflight travel toward and away from the housing and in a constantlychanging pattern, the effect being to create generally verticallychanging patterns superimposed upon the generally horizontally shiftingpatterns created by the orbiting lenses.

It is to be appreciated that the three separate motors 40, 54 and 62 maybe replaced by a common motor having any suitable driving connections tothe shafts 37, 5t and 61. Current for the motors and light source isintroduced through a connector 65. Other modifications and arrangementin detail such as come within the true spirit and scope of the followingclaims are considered to be a part of my invention.

I claim:

1. An illuminating device for casting a constantly changingkaleidoscopic design upon a wall comprising an opaque housing adapted tobe positioned adjacent a wall, a source of light mounted within saidhousing, an openended tubular, translucent shield of patchworkcoloration horizontally surrounding said source of light, means torotate said shield about a horizontal axis, a double convex lens fixedlymounted within said housing in optical alignment with said source oflight in a position above said shield and at one side of a verticalplane including said source of light, said device being adapted to bepositioned with said vertical plane parallel to an adjacent wallsurface, said housing having a wide slot in the upper surface thereof,the forward edge of said slot being in front of said vertical plane andthe rear edge of said slot being to the rear of an inclined planepassing through the optical centers of said light source and lens, ashaft mounted for rotation within said housing about a horizontal axisin alignment with said source of light and said slot, a plurality ofdouble convex lenses mounted upon said shaft along the length thereof,and means to rotate said shaft.

2. An illuminating device for casting a constantly changingkaleidoscopic design upon a wall comprising an opaque housing adapted tobe positioned adjacent a wall, a source of light mounted within saidhousing, an openended tubular, translucent shield of patchworkcoloration horizontally surrounding said source of light, means torotate said shield about a horizontal axis, a double convex lens fixedlymounted within said housing in optical alignment with said source oflight in a position above said shield and at one side of a verticalplane including said source of light, said device being adapted to bepositioned with said vertical plane parallel to an adjacent wallsurface, said housing having a wide slot in the upper surface thereof,the forward edge of said slot being in front of said vertical plane andthe rear edge of said slot being to the rear of an inclined planepassing through the optical centers of said light source and lens, ashaft mounted for rotation within said housing about a horizontal axisin alignment with said source of light and said slot, and parallel tothe axis of said shield, a plurality of double convex lenses mountedupon said shaft along the length thereof, and means to rotate said shaftat a speed differing from the speed of rotation of said shield.

3. An illuminating device for casting a constantly changingkaleidoscopic design upon a wall comprising an opaque housing adapted tobe positioned adjacent a wall,

a source of light mounted within said housing, an open ended tubular,translucent shield of patchwork coloration horizontally surrounding saidsource of light, means to rotate said shield about a horizontal axis, adouble convex 5 lens fixedly mounted within said housing in opticalalignment with said source of light in a position above said shield andat one side of a vertical plane including said source of light, saiddevice being adapted to be positioned with said vertical plane parallelto an adjacent wall surface, said housing having a wide slot in theupper surface thereof, the forward edge of said slot being in front ofsaid vertical plane and the rear edge of said slot being to the rear ofan inclined plane passing through the optical centers of said lightsource and lens, a shaft mounted for rotation within said housing abouta horizontal axis in alignment with said source of light and said slot,a plurality of double convex lenses mounted upon said shaft along thelength thereof, and means to rotate said shaft, said plurality of lenseseach being mounted with its optical center offset from said shaft sothat the lens orbits about the axis of said shaft.

4. An illuminating device for casting a constantly changingkaleidoscopic design upon a wall comprising an opaque housing adapted tobe positioned adjacent a Wall, a source of light mounted within saidhousing, an openended tubular, translucent shield of patchworkcoloration horizontally surrounding said source of light, means to -rotate said shield about a horizontal axis, a double convex lens fixedlymounted within said housing in optical alignment with said source oflight in a position above said shield and at one side of a verticalplane including said source of light, said device being adapted to bepositioned with said vertical plane parallel to an adjacent wallsurface, said housing having a wide slot in the upper surface thereof,the forward edge of said slot being in front of said vertical plane andthe rear edge of said slot being to the rear of an inclined planepassing through the optical centers of said light source and lens, ashaft mounted for notation within said housing about a horizontal axisin alignment with said source of light and said slot, and parallel tothe axis of said shield, a plurality of double convex lenses mountedupon said shaft along the length thereof, and means to rotate said shaftat a speed differing from the speed of rotation of said shield, saidplurality of lenses comprising a plurality of lenses mounted with theirmidplanes parallel to the axis of said shaft along an intermediateportion thereof and a plurality of lenses mounted with their midplanesat acute angles to the axis of said shaft and located toward the endsthereof.

5. An illuminating device for casting a constantly changingkaleidoscopic design upon a wall comprising an opaque housing adapted tobe positioned adjacent a wall, a source of light mounted within saidhousing, an openended tubular, translucent shield of patchworkcoloration horizontally surrounding said source of light, means torotate said shield about a horizontal axis, a double convex lens fixedlymounted within said housing in optical alignment with said source oflight in a position above said shield and at one side of a verticalplane including said source of light, said device being adapted to bepositioned with said vertical plane parallel to an adjacent wallsurface, said housing having a wide slot in the upper surface thereof,the forward edge of said slot being in front of said vertical plane andthe rear edge of said slot being to the rear of an inclined planepassing through the optical centers of said light source and lens, ashaft mounted for rotation within said housing about a horizontal axisin alignment with said source of light and said slot, and parallel tothe axis of said shield, a plurality of double convex lenses mountedupon said shaft along the length thereof, and means to rotate said shaftat a speed differing from the speed of rotation of said shield, saidplurality of lenses comprising a plurality of lenses mounted with theirmidplanes parallel to the axis of said shaft along an intermediateportion thereof and a plurality of lenses mounted with their midplanesat acute angles to the axis of said shaft and located toward :the endsthereof, a multifaceted, refractive ball mounted between said lightsource and said shaft, means to rotate said ball, and means to causesaid ball to follow an orbital path while rotataing.

6. In an illuminating device for casting a constantly changingkaleidoscopic design upon a wall,

an opaque housing having an aperture therein, an incandescent lamphaving a filament, socket means mounted in the housing supporting thelamp in a position spaced from the aperture and inclined relative to theaperture, a tubular translucent shield having a patchwork colorationpattern, means mounting the shield for rotation on an axis generallytransverse to the axis of the aperture and rotation in a positionsurrounding the filament, drive means for rotating the shield, lensmeans positioned in the housing in optical alignment with the filamentand the aperture, and means for revolving the lens means about an axissubstantially transverse to the optical axis of the lens means. 7. In anilluminating device for casting a constantly changing kaleidoscopicdesign upon a wall,

an opaque housing having at the top thereof an openmotor drive means inthe housing,

a translucent multicolored hollow shield rotated by the drive means in aposition extending generally horizontally,

a light source in the shield and including an incandescent filamentinclined relative to the vertical,

a shaft driven by the drive means,

means mounting the shaft rotatably in a position uetween the opening andthe shield and extending gen erally parallel to the shield and spacedlaterally from the shield,

a plurality of biconvex lenses,

and means mounting the lenses on the shaft in positions spaced along theshaft between the opening and the shield and in which the optical axesof the lenses are substantially perpendicular to the shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,513,077 Welsh Oct. 28, 1924 1,699,169 Thurstone Jan. 15, 19291,918,123 Newman July 11, 1933 1,973,454 Wilfred Sept. 11, 1934

1. AN ILLUMINATING DEVICE FOR CASTING A CONSTANTLY CHANGINGKALEIDOSCOPIC DESIGN UPON A WALL COMPRISING AN OPAQUE HOUSING ADAPTED TOBE POSITIONED ADJACENT A WALL, A SOURCE OF LIGHT MOUNTED WITHIN SAIDHOUSING, AN OPENENDED TUBULAR, TRANSLUCENT SHIELD OF PATCHWORKCOLORATION HORIZONTALLY SURROUNDING SAID SOURCE OF LIGHT, MEANS TOROTATE SAID SHIELD ABOUT A HORIZONTAL AXIS, A DOUBLE CONVEX LENS FIXEDLYMOUNTED WITHIN SAID HOUSING IN OPTICAL ALIGNMENT WITH SAID SOURCE OFLIGHT IN A POSITION ABOVE SAID SHIELD AND AT ONE SIDE OF A VERTICALPLANE INCLUDING SAID SOURCE OF LIGHT, SAID DEVICE BEING ADAPTED TO BEPOSITIONED WITH SAID VERTICAL PLANE PARALLEL TO AN ADJACENT WALLSURFACE, SAID HOUSING HAVING A WIDE SLOT IN THE UPPER SURFACE THEREOF,THE FORWARD EDGE OF SAID SLOT BEING IN FRONT OF SAID VERTICAL PLANE ANDTHE REAR EDGE OF SAID SLOT BEING TO THE REAR OF AN INCLINED PLANEPASSING THROUGH THE OPTICAL CENTERS OF SAID LIGHT SOURCE AND LENS, ASHAFT MOUNTED FOR ROTATION WITHIN SAID HOUSING ABOUT A HORIZONTAL AXISIN ALIGNMENT WITH SAID SOURCE OF LIGHT AND SAID SLOT, A PLURALITY OFDOUBLE CONVEX LENSES MOUNTED UPON SAID SHAFT ALONG THE LENGTH THEREOF,AND MEANS TO ROTATE SAID SHAFT.